Margaret of Thibodaux

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Pub Date Mar 18 2025 | Archive Date Apr 04 2025

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Description

Self-focused and emotional 14-year-old Margaret can't imagine her deceased mama being erased from their home for good―or how her daddy could replace her with another woman. It will take coming to terms with her own humility and accountability as surprising truths come to light, and as unexpected events show her that life, and what she holds dear, can change in an instant.

It is 1974, the last carefree, sultry Louisiana summer before high school begins, when fourteen-year-old Margaret Thibodeaux’s world collapses: her daddy asks hometown doctor Muriel to marry him. It's been six years since her mama mysteriously died, and Margaret is convinced that the closer Muriel gets, the less she'll receive bedside visits from her mother—and the more she will fade from their lives.

Set on rejecting Muriel’s kindnesses, Margaret grapples with everyone’s delight over the engagement, including her two best friends, Honey and Robert, who think Muriel is nothing short of an angel. But when Margaret visits her mama’s grave for the first time and finds a poem left there—not in her daddy’s handwriting—the mystery of her mother’s death escalates. It isn't until she befriends the local recluse, Jezebel, who has spiritual gifts akin to her own, that Margaret begins to unravel her assumptions, reconcile her grief, and discover a shocking revelation about her mama from across the veil.

At once humorous and heartbreaking, Margaret of Thibodaux is a captivating Southern story of longing and self-discovery, told from the perspective of a feisty and determined, yet vulnerable, 14-year-old girl as she learns that love and nurturing can come in the most unexpected packages.


Self-focused and emotional 14-year-old Margaret can't imagine her deceased mama being erased from their home for good―or how her daddy could replace her with another woman. It will take coming to...


A Note From the Publisher

Audiobook in production. Expected April 2025

Audiobook in production. Expected April 2025


Advance Praise

From Book Life Review:

". . . The novel’s emotional intensity crescendos through a series of crises, each peeling away Margaret’s resistance, pushing her toward an uneasy but necessary growth. While the narrative takes time to settle into its emotional core, its bled of Southern Gothic elements and evocative prose makes for a haunting yet deeply human coming-of-age story. At its heart, Taylor’s fiction debut is a story about true friendship, accepting cultural differences, and the unpredictable ways grief shapes—and ultimately frees—us.

Takeaway: Moving coming-of-age about grief, blended with Gothic mystery.

Comparable Titles: Sue Monk Kidd’s The Invention of Wings, Jesmyn Ward’s Sing Unburied Sing.

From The Book Review Directory:

“Author Jo Taylor has written a poignant coming-of-age story that combines elements of

humor, sadness, and joy in relating the story of young Margaret Thibodeaux.”

“The author hits the highs and lows of adolescence in her portrayal of young Margaret

Thibodaux.”

Margaret of Thibodaux is an intelligent and emotionally gratifying novel that explores the journey of Margaret from child to teenager, experiencing joy and tragedy along the way. This is a book that will tug at the heartstrings while also evoking smiles. Author Jo

Taylor has written a wonderful book with broad appeal.


From Book Life Review:

". . . The novel’s emotional intensity crescendos through a series of crises, each peeling away Margaret’s resistance, pushing her toward an uneasy but necessary growth. While...


Available Editions

EDITION Ebook
ISBN 9081962504065
PRICE $8.99 (USD)
PAGES 241

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